These aren't words I ever thought I'd say before, but Oxford's most exquisitely designed hotel resides inside St Giles' Victorian-era, subterranean public toilets. Or, well, that's what the newly refurbished premises of two-suite bolthole The Netty used to be — as its northern English moniker hints.
Still, don't be fooled by its unexpected location and the more or less noir scenes you might associate with it: not only is this summer 2025 opening worth walking down the steep, old-style staircase that leads to it, but based on Livingetc standards, it is also one of the most spectacular design hotels people should try their best to experience firsthand this year.
Rachael Gowdridge, the London designer behind the stay's plush, boldly romantic interiors, cut her teeth working for the award-winning studios of David Collins and Martin Brudnizki, and lent her eye for layered, theatrical contemporary decor to luxury lifestyle group Ennismore, before starting a venture of her own in 2021.
Driven by a desire to infuse sophisticatedly conceived spaces with a warmth, a comfort, that makes the beauty of design accessible and enjoyable by all, she has since contributed to the success of cult destinations like The Hoxton, Four Seasons, and Rocco Forte Hotels, Fortnum & Mason, and the prolific Big Mamma group.
Given the scale of her previous projects, my first question for Gowdridge comes rather spontaneously: what made The Netty the right kind of story to tell through design?
The Netty — Eccentricity Meets Heritage
"The Netty had this irresistible mix of eccentricity and heritage that immediately drew me in," she admits. When the clients first approached her and introduced her to the site, the designer recalls, she immediately knew it was a chance to do something truly different.
"So many of our larger projects are about refinement on a grand scale, whereas, here, it was about intimacy, playfulness and storytelling," Gowdridge explains. To make the challenge even more intriguing was the opportunity of looking into its past. "I love digging into the history of a building and reimaginging it for today, and The Netty was full of rich layers waiting to be teased out," she says.
A Job With a Challenge: Space
The suggestive underground setting of The Netty, particularly its narrow corridors and zigzag-y walls, came at a cost: space. Something that inevitably forced Gowdridge to recalibrate her design gaze.
"The Netty is undeniably compact: we were working within the footprint of a Victorian public convenience, so every decision had to be deliberate," she explains. Years of experience in the field meant the designer still found a way to make restraints work to her advantage.
Consider, for example, the walk-in rainfall showers installed in both suites: "they didn't have to come directly off the bedroom, but we chose to design them that way," Gowdridge says. More than just an architectural element, "it extends the sense of space while creating a playful, dramatic moment that guests will remember".
She injected magic into all the "awkward little corners" of the rooms, too, transforming nooks that "might otherwise have gone wasted" into precious-looking vanities or clever storage, similarly to what we have seen happening earlier this year at Islyn Studio-designed, New Yorkese capsule stay Now Now NoHo.
Like in that case, at this joyfully sumptuous Oxford hotel, too, "every inch has a purpose, and that precision makes the suites feel detailed and full of character rather than constrained".
As Above, So Below: Mirroring Oxford's Streets Down Under
"The tapestries elevate the bedrooms...
...giving them a gravitas and texture that instantly transports guests," says designer Rachael Gowdridge.
That The Netty is hidden in plain sight a few steps below street level doesn't mean the sojourn is disconnected by its vibrant surroundings — the opposite. Located a single minute away from Oxford's famed Ashmolean Museum, a world-class cultural destination home to anything from meticulously preserved Egyptian pre-Dynastic sculpture and ceramics and Minoan artifacts to rare Raphael drawings, fine examples of Chinese pottery, and equally spellbinding contemporary art, the hotel takes that same breadth of inspiration underground.
Wrapped in eye-catching tapestries, textural fabrics, tiles, and spirited canvases, The Netty is as good of a base to explore the city's legendary athenaeum, its leafy cloisters, and vibrant restaurant scene as it is a creative refuge from its crowds and din.
Evoking that feeling wasn't an easy task, but required Gowdridge to search far and wide. "The majority of the artworks present in the rooms were vintage or sourced at fairs, so each came with its own history," the designer says of the element she is most attached to from the space, adding that "that sense of layered storytelling felt right for a project so rooted in place and past."
For her, sourcing vintage and second-hand furniture has become an integral part to her commissions, and The Netty was no exception. The brass chandelier, one of the pieces Gowdridge ended up purchasing while on the hunt for timeless gems, "had just the right amount of patina, while the tables and chairs were chosen for their character and the sense of lived-in charm they bring," she says.
However, incorporating such buys into a modern design scheme demands extra attention. As the designer explains, "the challenge is always balance: we didn't want the suites to feel like a museum set, so we layered these finds with bold color, contemporary upholstery, and fresh detailing." Ultimately, what gives The Netty its desirable energy is that 'old and new' mix.
Floating poetically above the velvety headboards in the suites, like in top Paris hotel Le Grand Mazarin, the bespoke tapestries were handmade by heritage weavers Pinton in a nod to the arts and crafts hub that is the Ashmolean. The drapery framing the arched showers, meanwhile, was deliberately designed as a two-piece job rather than a single sweep. Just like a theater's curtain, "it heigthens the feel of theatricality, of showmanship," Gowdridge reveals.
"A Moment of Delight, Irreverence, and Surprise"
The Netty's bathroom extravaganza, captured in full force.
Still, if there's one thing the subterranean feature of The Netty did, was laying the groundwork for its undisputed pièce de résistance: ladies and gents — the toilets. Gowdridge's most exuberant, coolest twist.
To build the bathrooms in the suites, "we looked at old photographs and records of Victorian conveniences," the designer explains. While doing so, she noticed how they were both extremely ornate and utilitarian in their design.
The result is a play on that duality. "So yes, the floral tiles, the cheeky pink toilets, and the unapologetic chrome sink are all a wink to the original site, but they also make guests smile." Bathrooms, Gowdridge says, "often get treated so seriously: here, they're meant to be a moment of delight, irreverence, and surprise."
For a holiday stay obtained from the lavish revamp of 19th-century street restrooms, or "netty", I realize things couldn't have gone in any other way. Gowdridge seems to think the same.
"The greatest value in working with the past is that it anchors you in a story larger than yourself," she tells me. "Public spaces, even abandoned ones, hold memories and collective meaning. With The Netty, we learned how important it is to listen to those stories and celebrate its quirks rather than overwrite them. Instead of smoothing away the building's eccentricities, we leaned into them — that's what gives it such character."
